Didn't want to hijack the other silver thread, but as I am soon to be debt free I am looking at more ways of saving and it would seem that a small amount of precious metals wouldn't be a terrible idea.

My question is what form would be best? Assuming you were to resell at a later date (non-SHTF) then all forms should be generally equal (aside from purity). Is this correct?

In a SHTF situation, I would imagine coinage is probably the easiest way to barter?

My question is what form would be best? Assuming you were to resell at a later date (non-SHTF) then all forms should be generally equal (aside from purity). Is this correct?

Thoughts?

Personally I like 1 oz silver round (.999 purity) trade units or liberdads. They are in a size and value that I can buy regularly and trade in small denominations. One of those rounds is a little north of 30 bucks, whereas an equivalent in gold is north of 1500. I buy a lot more 30 items than 1500 items so it is the right size for me.

It's really about what you have room to store and how you'll use it that should help drive your decision.

I'm on my phone (doubletap-a-talk) and I didn't look at your profile before posting so I don't know where you are. If you're in the inland empire area I can point you at the shop I like.

I like the 90% coins for value but they can be harder to float because the guy you're trading it to has to understand the melt value and their first inclination is that a dime is worth 10 cents. It's hard to use it to sweeten a deal if you have to explain how metals work to the guy first.

I used to buy 4 or 5 1oz silver "bullion rounds" a week back when they were ~$4 - $6 a pop. I really don't think the margin is sufficient to sink a bunch of money into silver or gold at present.

If you want to invest in metals, I suggest looking for bargain on ammunition and components as I've seen a lot of increases in the prices of lead, brass, and copper. If you don't have a semi-auto rifle chambered in 7.62x54R - then you might want to consider such a purchase because this is about the only caliber left where you can buy ammunition for far less that it can be made.

Of course in a SHTF situation the main things would be food, water, guns, ammo, etc. But wouldn't PM's be a good idea in case you wanted to leave the US? Like if you wanted to flee to Canada? I would think PM's would spike in value & you could initially get by in Canada on your stash?

I prefer 90% "junk" coins, easily recognizable, small denominations, and seldom counterfeited. Second favorite would be the US silver eagle. And 1/10th oz gold coins would be a good choice as well.

Whatever you do I'd recommend diversification, easily recognized, and clearly marked (stamped) items. Last but not least, get yourself a small quality digital scale for detecting counterfeits and weighing silver for your SHTF scenario.

Didn't want to hijack the other silver thread, but as I am soon to be debt free I am looking at more ways of saving and it would seem that a small amount of precious metals wouldn't be a terrible idea.

My question is what form would be best? Assuming you were to resell at a later date (non-SHTF) then all forms should be generally equal (aside from purity). Is this correct?

In a SHTF situation, I would imagine coinage is probably the easiest way to barter?

Thoughts?

If you're thinking about saving for your future, a balanced portfolio will generally include a position in precious metals. There are some basics, but how much / which flavor is a question for your financial advisor, not a gun forum!

During the worst of a theoretical WROL event, nobody is going to believe you when you say your shiny bar is real gold or silver. Like every business involving pms today, they're going to want to weigh it and at least conduct some physical / chemical / etc test on your metal to prove it's legitimacy and perhaps it's purity. Old school coins will probably be believable to the broadest likely audience, but they still won't have universal applicability, and as you know, they're noisy, heavy and depending on how they're valued, you might need a lot of them.

After WROL / financial collapse / etc subsides, and civilization returns, pms will be very useful, because there'll probably be no accepted paper money yet, but gems / pms will probably have good value.

So, it kinda depends on what you're looking to do, and for which scenarios you want to prep. Eventually, you'll hopefully be prepped for pretty much everything, so you'll eventually want to have some position in all the above areas, but the important thing is to do it wisely.

Of course in a SHTF situation the main things would be food, water, guns, ammo, etc. But wouldn't PM's be a good idea in case you wanted to leave the US? Like if you wanted to flee to Canada? I would think PM's would spike in value & you could initially get by in Canada on your stash?

I started out with rolls of Silver Eagles and Maples in tubes. Then added fractional gold [1/10 1/20 and 1/4] of either eagles or maples, whatever has the best deal on the price premium over spot at the time.

I found that starting out with coins first since they are easier to compare to existing stock and are a known quantity for buyers and sellers.

After that moving onto well known generic bars and rounds to build up a stack after the coins.

Counterfeits aren't a big problem unless you are buying from ebay where you can't check it out in hand before buying. Fake silver/gold will have different density than the real thing.

A weigh scale, calipers and a known good sample of the coin/bar you are buying will protect you from 99% of counterfeits. Usually fakes will mess around with the dimensions of the coin [too thick, too wide] to get the weight to match the real thing. Details and fonts/text are usually screwed up on fakes, and the obverse/reverse usually have messed up alignments on fake coins.

I've probably read more history than most on this forum. So you made the claim, let's hear your example (edit: and I'll do my own reading to save you from typing ).

i lol'ed

Anyways OP, just get yourself some pre64 silver and call it good. Maybe invest in small amounts of gold. Large amounts would be too hard to divide if SHTF and you was using it for barter. Just my opinion.

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I've probably read more history than most on this forum. So you made the claim, let's hear your example (edit: and I'll do my own reading to save you from typing ).

If you actually could read, which I doubt, then you would know what the heck I was talking about, but you dont, because you cant. Just another drive-by thread flamer. Exactly why I left and stopped posting. Do you work for the TSA by chance?

If you actually could read, which I doubt, then you would know what the heck I was talking about, but you dont, because you cant. Just another drive-by thread flamer. Exactly why I left and stopped posting. Do you work for the TSA by chance?

I ask for a simple example and this is what you give me ? Pity. Another fine example of taking your ball and going home. You could just go away again if you can't handle it.

I stand by my argument. In a true SHTF situation, PMs are worthless without economic structure to lend value to the PMs.

Consider this, in the absence of Fiat Currency, something must take the place of a barter item not in possession...hence, the purpose of PM's in TEOTWAWKI or SHTF.

Example...

Of course, the S has Hit the Fan.
You have in your possession an abundance of silver.
Your well and pump has blown a seal. (Yes, you have a generator to run the pump).
You do not have a seal.

On the other side of the mountain, there is an old rancher with the seal you need.
So, you try to barter with him for said seal.
He has all the food, bullets, guns, supplies and etc... that he needs. There is nothing you have that he needs.
Of course you can't kill the guy for the seal, as some buttheads would say. You are a civilized guy.

In the absence of Fiat, you can use the PM's to buy the seal from him. He will then use the PM's to get something he needs from someone else.

Sam Sheridan wrote a good book called, "The Disaster Diaries: How I learned to stop worrying and love the apocalypse." He argues that saving precious metals is worthless. "You can't eat or drink silver." You are better off preparing for a barter system. Water, Food, Medicine, batteries will be the currency of SHTF.
That being said, there are a million reasons why you shouldn't stockpile precious metals. But you probably SHOULD save them for all the reasons we can't think of.

Consider this, in the absence of Fiat Currency, something must take the place of a barter item not in possession...hence, the purpose of PM's in TEOTWAWKI or SHTF.

Example...

Of course, the S has Hit the Fan.
You have in your possession an abundance of silver.
Your well and pump has blown a seal. (Yes, you have a generator to run the pump).
You do not have a seal.

On the other side of the mountain, there is an old rancher with the seal you need.
So, you try to barter with him for said seal.
He has all the food, bullets, guns, supplies and etc... that he needs. There is nothing you have that he needs.
Of course you can't kill the guy for the seal, as some buttheads would say. You are a civilized guy.

In the absence of Fiat, you can use the PM's to buy the seal from him. He will then use the PM's to get something he needs from someone else.

There you go.
A legitimate reason for PM's in SHTF.

I understand bartering. However, you've assigned value to the PM. How does the silver get its value? Think Macro. There's economic structure in your scenario somewhere.

A SHTF situation is not necessarily a world wide event. Even a TEOTWAWKI situation is not necessarily a destruction of all economic structure.

I would consider the Holocaust as a true SHTF situation for the Jews.

PMs allowed many of them to get out of Nazi controlled territory before it was too late.

I agree, it doesn't have to be a worldwide event. However, an economy still existed for the Jews. They were able to use PMs as they had value, much like the cash or other items transacted by the majority of Jews who fled the Nazis.

I'm not saying PMs don't have value following a SHTF situation. But the bug-in fortified bunker food and bullet hoarding scenarios so often presented by the preppers and the requirement of using PMs as bartering instruments is a farce. You simply can't do it without economic structure.